Michael L. Quintos

Michael Lawrence Quintos is a quiet, mild-mannered Art Director by day. But as night falls, he regularly performs on various stages everywhere as a Counter-Tenor soloist, actor, and dancer for The Men Alive Chorus since 2002. He's sung everything from Broadway, Jazz, R&B, Classical, Gospel and Pop. His musical theater roots started early, performing in various school musical productions and a couple of nationally-televised programs. The performing bug eventually brought him a brief championship run in the Philippines' version of "Star Search" before moving to Las Vegas at age 11. College brought him out to Orange County, California, where he earned a BFA in Graphic Design and a BA in Film Screenwriting. He has spent several years as a designer and art director for various entertainment company clients, while spending his free time watching or performing in shows.

For John Lloyd Young's special Valentine's weekend cabaret concert titled 'My Turn'---which continues at the Samueli Theater on the campus of Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 14---the Tony Award-winning star of JERSEY BOYS presented an hour-long set of love songs, both joyful and heart-tugging. With the confidence and panache of a seasoned old-school song interpreter and showman, Young oh-so-passionately crooned and belted his way through an enjoyable songbook of personally curated classic standards that reverberated with the highs and lows of love.

A charming, fun-filled musical comedy performed with cheery, infectious gusto, 3-D Theatricals' top-notch regional production of SEUSSICAL - THE MUSICAL is a laugh-out-loud, smile-a-minute spectacular for all ages! Featuring Cathy Rigby reprising her Broadway/National Tour role as The Cat In The Hat, the show is one of this season's most gloriously delightful, thoroughly entertaining surprises! The musical continues at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton through February 22 then transfers to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center for a limited run February 28 March 8.

Of the multitude of recent film-to-stage adaptations that have risen from the video dust bin to breathe new life in a different guise, the stage version of DIRTY DANCING---whose first national tour is now gyrating inside Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts through February 15---is by far one of the oddest, most peculiar ones of the bunch. Though it's not difficult to believe that this ad-hoc concoction has actually been a hit both in Australia and in the UK (they have the original 1987 film's nostalgia-hungry fans to thank for that, no doubt), it's a bit alarming to think that such an awkward head-scratcher has continued life in its current, somewhat off-putting format: as a show paved with good intentions---but executed poorly. Cool projections, though!

The second you take your seat to experience Kneehigh's dazzlingly unorthodox adaptation of the classic doomed romance TRISTAN AND YSEULT at South Coast Repertory, you know for sure you're in for---well, as the folks in Monty Python would say---something completely different. From the get-go, there's an enticing fascination that swirls wildly around this quirky, expressively theatrical Brit import, which is the latest U.S.-touring production from Kneehigh, the much-lauded Cornwall, England-based stage troupe. Their play continues through February 22 at the Tony Award-winning Costa Mesa theater.

There is a very good possibility that many of you have seen or heard of the terrific musical collective known as Postmodern Jukebox across one or more of your preferred social media platforms. This group of clever and talented viral-video/YouTube sensations is the brainchild of arranger/pianist/musical genius Scott Bradlee, whose primary objective has been to repurpose contemporary radio hits and infuse them with the vintage sounds that are more likely to be found in your grandfather's old vinyl record collection. The results? Refreshingly educational, absolutely irresistible, and, most important of all, genuinely entertaining.

In South Coast Repertory's excellent new production of Matthew Lopez's captivating play THE WHIPPING MAN---now playing at the Tony Award-winning Costa Mesa theater through January 25---an internal, theological tug-of-war is brewing just as the Civil War has come to an end. The absorbing, character-driven drama presents the uneasy return of an injured war veteran back to his family's home where two of his father's slaves---now free men under the law---have remained. The homecoming coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover, which all three celebrate inside the war-torn ruins of this once grand Southern mansion.

When it comes to film-to-stage adaptations, the sassy, Tony Award-winning Best Musical KINKY BOOTS---whose touring company is now on stage at Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through January 11---is that rare phenomenon we all wish would happen more often: a stage show that actually improves upon its cinematic source material. On stage, the sparkly stage version certainly amps up the hilarity, high-jinks, and heart, thanks to Harvey Fierstein's even cheekier book that complements Cyndi Lauper's Tony-winning, pop-tastic music and lyrics. Along with the added bonus of Jerry Mitchell's fiery choreography balanced within his even-paced direction, the stage adaptation very much deserves every accolade it has received and continues to enjoy. KINKY BOOTS is, no question, one feel-good, winner of a show.

Filled to the (vacuum-sealed) brim with naughty one-liners and blush-worthy double entendres, DIXIE'S TUPPERWARE PARTY is a one-woman comedy laugh-fest cleverly disguised as the most outlandish Tupperware party you'll ever experience. It is hosted by the flamboyant, ultra-caffeinated Dixie Longate, the big-haired, sweet-and-spicy Southern hick female alter-ego of writer/actor Kris Andersson, who has arrived in the peculiar land of OC Housewives to hock her amazing, innovative and virtually indestructible 'plastic crap.' The Drama Desk-nominated Off-Broadway show---yes, it's a show---continues its just-extended run at Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa through January 4, 2015.

I'd have to be, well... a mean ol' Grinch to say anything remotely negative about the new non-equity touring stage production of DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL, so I'll try my best to keep it to a minimum. Honestly though, it's really not that hard, actually, because---surprise---the show, for the most part, is an honest-to-goodness adorable little musical with lots of kid-friendly comedy and a feel-good holiday message that really softens even the hardest of cynics. And yes, even I myself found my heart growing three sizes during the course of the show's smile-inducing opening night performance at Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts (it continues here for a brief run through December 14). Sure, the show isn't exactly the pinnacle of musical theater excellence, nor does it even attempt to be. But what it lacks in roof-raising, show-stopping splendor, it makes up for ten-fold in pure pluck---the kind that kids, especially, will eat right up like candy.

Broadway's loss is definitely Long Beach's gain now that the big, bright, and buoyant new musical BIG FISH is making a splash as the season opener for Musical Theatre West's 62nd season. Filled to the brim with heart, emotional heft, and colorful storytelling, this slightly flawed but charmingly imaginative new musical wraps up its final remaining West Coast premiere performances at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach through November 16. My immediate recommendation? Definitely experience this while you can.

The historic reunion---formatted as part talk-show, part concert---featured not only its creators Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine waxing nostalgic about the making of this beloved show, but also had several members of the Original Broadway cast including Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Danielle Ferland, and Ben Wright---all performing together on the same stage for the first time in years. Humorist and CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca served as the evening's wry, very amiable host and moderator. The results? Mind-blowingly awesome... not only for the incredible musical performances given by the reunited cast, but also for all the dishy, humorous, and, at times, emotionally-tinged inside info shared by the musical's genius collaborators.

In the world premiere production of playwright (and creator of NBC's Smash) Theresa Rebeck's ZEALOT---now performing at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa through November 16---Mecca, Saudi Arabia serves as the setting for a volatile tug-of-war that erupts at the start of the 'Hajj,' the holy city's annual Islamic pilgrimage. Here a young woman's act of civil disobedience incites riots, prompting a carefully-considered, if endlessly circling debate on the merits of whether to comply and honor a host country's 'traditional' rules, or to allow Western ideologies to triumph in order to best serve the needs of a fellow human---a fellow global citizen---in dire need of care and protection. While Rebeck's play, helmed by SCR's own artistic director Marc Masterson, is generally insightful, the play feels pretty unfinished, as if there's plenty more to unearth in the narrative that didn't quite make it to the page (and, consequently, the stage). Regrettably, it doesn't quite reach the point of heightened urgency you would come to expect in a drama with such a politically-charged storyline.

Arguably, director Diane Paulus' greatest triumph to date is the spectacular new production of PIPPIN, the 2013 Tony-winning revival of Stephen Schwartz's trippy but winsome musical about the angst-riddled but hyper-aspirational young son of King Charlemagne, and his erratic, sometimes frustrating journey of self-discovery. In her marvelously inventive, re-imagined update---now playing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through November 9---Paulus brilliantly orients the topsy-turvy machinations of the entire story within the canvas-lined confines of a big-top circus. Here, the over-the-top performance troupe that 'guides' our hero's search for self-fulfillment aren't merely just actors (or 'players') but are also all agile, athletic circus performers that tumble, leap, and balance themselves for our (and Pippin's) entertainment pleasure. As expected, both Pippin and the audience are equally lulled into submission.

Admirably directed by 3-D Theatricals co-founder and resident artistic director TJ Dawson, this ambitiously impressive regional revival of RAGTIME: THE MUSICAL, continues through October 26 at its home-base at the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton before moving north for its set of performances at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, November 1-9. A stunning, beautifully-rendered production enhanced by a supremely talented cast and Broadway-caliber production values, this rarely-produced musical is a Southern California must-see!

For 90 solid minutes, Tony Award-winning Broadway icon Brian Stokes Mitchell---under the guise of a showtunes-centric cabaret concert themed around his most recent studio album Simply Broadway---provided his enthralled Costa Mesa audience a virtual master class in musical theater performance. Not only did he sing every selection beautifully (as expected), he performed the heck out of each song with electric, palpable passion. Instead of merely parking himself in front of a mic, the seasoned pro of film, television and the Broadway stage chose to actually disappear into each song's character with purposeful yet effortless ease. It's not difficult to be awed by Mitchell.

The appeal of trading in the hustle and bustle of a 21st Century lifestyle for a 1955 throwback downgrade is the focus of Jordan Harrison's wonderfully intriguing play MAPLE & VINE, now having its Los Angeles/Orange County premiere production at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills through October 19. Directed by Mark Ramont, the dark dramedy traces the story of an interracial married couple and the drastic steps they take on to not only escape their respective present-day ruts but to further ignite their hopeful pursuit of happiness.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's thoughtful, riveting character study GOOD PEOPLE continues at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts through October 12. Buoyed by impressive performances, this excellent regional production of the Tony Award-winning play shines the spotlight on the class divide and examines the lengths some go to for self-preservation.

Something completely enchanting is happening right now on a stage in Costa Mesa. Kicking off its 51st season, South Coast Repertory---in association with the American Repertory Theatre and the Smith Center---is currently staging the remarkable, re-envisioned new take on William Shakespeare's classic play THE TEMPEST created by Aaron Posner and magician Teller. The visually-stunning, wonderfully magical production continues its Southern California premiere performances through September 28.

Going above-and-beyond your typical museum diorama or theme park animatronic showcase, WALKING WITH DINOSAURS - THE ARENA SPECTACULAR is a dino-lover's dream: a wondrous feat of technology, theatrical magic, and imagination---bringing to (virtual) life those figures that continue to scare/fascinate every kid (and kid-at-heart). Kid-friendly, big budget edu-tainment, the show's North American tour has swung back to Southern California, first at the Honda Center in Orange County through September 7, then later at the Staple Center in Los Angeles from September 11-14.

Subtle and, at times, molasses-slow in execution---yet ultimately powerful in impact---ONCE is a beautifully-staged, soul-searing musical that interchanges romantic entanglement for creative fulfillment---and how the line that separates these emotions are often blurred. The eight-time Tony award-winning musical---featuring a book by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova---continues performances in Costa Mesa through August 31.